I’d like to recommend District 3 voters in Montpelier consider voting for Jessica Edgerly Walsh for city council.

I noticed that Jessica was the only candidate for this seat who mentioned the environment in her statement in the paper, and only one other candidate in addition to her mentioned transportation and connectivity to downtown. I think that’s important to note.

As the recently created Bicycle Advisory Committee works to make Montpelier a nationallycertified “Bike Friendly City,” and as another group of citizens I belong to works with CarShare Vermont to explore basing one or more shareable vehicles in Montpelier, it will be important to have city councilors who understand the value of being able to get around safely, conveniently, and affordably.

On the neighborhood level, Jessica lives just two doors down from me. I volunteered to help with several conferences that Jessica worked to organize with Toxics Action Center. There are many moving parts when you are planning events like those, and by all reports the final result was always a success. The skills Jessica brought to that work should help her in working with the city administration.

Finally, I think it’s a good idea to maintain as much gender balance as possible on any decision making body. A variety of perspectives help the council to generate good ideas and reach good decisions.